1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a method and arrangement for attaching labels to semiconductor modules mounted on a double-sided substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
As technologies develop in such industry fields as the electrical industry, electronic industry and telecommunication industry, there is an increasing use of semiconductor devices in these fields. For example, technical developments have led to performance enhancement and scaling-down of equipment and products used in the respective industry fields. The performance enhancement and scaling-down of electronic equipment and products may be obtained by installing semiconductor modules with various functions in electronic equipment and/or products. One technology utilized for mounting semiconductor modules on a surface of a substrate is referred to as a surface mounting technology (SMT).
Semiconductor devices, or modules, may be classified into memory modules which are configured for storing information and non-memory modules configured for performing calculation. A semiconductor device may include a plurality of semiconductor chips to perform desired functions. The semiconductor chips may be mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) or a substrate, for example.
Labels reflecting information such as the ‘manufacturing company’, ‘manufactured date’, ‘product specification’, etc. may be attached to the respective semiconductor modules. A process for attaching labels to semiconductor modules may be considered as a final sub-process in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, for example.
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a conventional process for mounting a plurality of semiconductor modules on a substrate and attaching labels to the semiconductor modules. Referring to FIG. 1, a process line includes a loading unit 100, a screen printer 200, a module mounting unit 300, a reflow unit 400, a label attaching unit 500, and an unloading unit 600. Each unit performs a corresponding process for a given time, and when the corresponding process is complete in a given unit, the following unit performs its corresponding process.
The loading unit 100 loads a substrate on which semiconductor modules will be mounted onto the process line. The substrate may be a rectangular shape of PCB, or may be a jig designed to allow semiconductor modules to be easily separated, for example. The loading unit 100 loads substrates in a sequential manner (one by one) on the process line, for example, on a conveyer belt. Here, a time interval in which each substrate is loaded on the conveyer belt, etc. may be uniform, and the follow-on units on the process line (i.e., screen printer 200, module mounting unit 300, reflow unit 400, label attaching unit 500, unloading unit 600) perform corresponding processes on the substrate for the time interval.
Referring to FIG. 1, the screen printer 200 may perform a screen printing process that prints a given area of the substrate surface with lead, etc. The screen printing process may be used to form outer leads of the semiconductor modules to be mounted on the substrate with lead, etc., using a screen with a given pattern. Successively, the module mounting unit 300 may mount semiconductor modules on the substrate. A substrate generally may include a plurality of semiconductor modules, for example, six, eight or ten semiconductor modules. After the module mounting unit 300 mounts the given number of semiconductor modules on the substrate, the reflow unit 400 may perform a reflow process that applies heat to the substrate in order to firmly adhere the outer leads of the semiconductor modules to the substrate.
A process that attaches labels to a surface on each of a plurality of semiconductor modules may then be performed at label attaching unit 500. The label may be embodies as a sticker which including various information (i.e., manufacturing company, manufactured date, product specification, etc.) regarding the semiconductor module. The label attaching process may be performed using a robot arm of the label attaching unit 500, for example. After the label attaching process is complete, the unloading unit 600 unloads the substrate from the process line.
The conventional label attaching process as described above may have several problems. The label attaching unit 500 does not include a turner for turning over the substrate. Accordingly, it may be difficult for the conventional label attaching unit 500 to apply labels to a double-sided substrate where semiconductor modules are mounted on both surfaces or sides (front surface and rear surface). For example, if the above-described processes are repeated in order to attach a label on a second surface of a substrate (front or rear surface) after attaching a label on a first surface (top or bottom surface) of the substrate, settings of the processes, as well as of working files, have to be repeated for labeling semiconductor modules on each surface of the substrate. Additionally, the label attached on the first surface could possibly be damaged due to heat generated when performing the reflow process on the second surface.
Further, if two conventional label attaching units are arranged in a row in an effort to solve the above problems, it is necessary to turn over the substrate manually in order to attach a label to a second surface (i.e., surface opposite to the surface in which labels were attached) of a semiconductor substrate after attaching a label to a first surface of the semiconductor substrate. The manual-operation may complicate the label attaching process, possibly reduce accuracy, may reduce process automation, and/or may possibly increase process costs. Since process times allocated to the respective units are pre-set in the conventional label attaching process, intervention of the manual turning operation may prevent the respective units from accurately performing their corresponding processes within the set process time (time interval).